Delays in Esteban Cambiasso deal but Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson still hopeful of signing midfielder

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson said he was still hopeful of signing midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.

There had been reports earlier this week that the 34-year-old Argentinian, who is a free agent after leaving Inter Milan, had all but signed on a two-year deal.

However, Pearson confirmed yesterday that "not much progress" had been made since the weekend.

Pearson added that it may not be "football issues" that are halting the potential move, with confusion surrounding the player's representatives.

"I don't think it's right to talk about players publicly when we have not been able to achieve many deals," said Pearson. "The only one that is in the public domain, and has been for a couple of weeks now, is the Cambiasso one.

"We have not really made too much progress on that as we stand, but I am still hopeful something could be done.

"Unfortunately at times it is quite a complicated process. It appears to be representatives coming out of the woodwork, so it is very much a case of getting to the bottom of who represents who and trying to achieve the goal – to add players to the squad.

"It may not be football issues. It is slightly more complicated than I'm prepared to discuss.

"We will have to see how it goes. I am hopeful that something can be done but, again, with doing a lot of these deals there are a lot of variables that I am certainly not in control of, and we will have to see how it pans out."

Pearson admitted earlier this week that he was looking to bring in another defender before the end of the transfer window, with the club looking at Marseille right-back Rod Fanni.

However, after spending a few days at the club, City are no longer interested in bringing him to the club.

"He has been in for a couple of days and we have decided not to pursue that," said Pearson.

There had also been reports that former City centre-back Sol Bamba could be set for a return after being released by Turkish side Trabzonspor, but Pearson said that will not be the case.

Pearson also confirmed that striker Jamie Vardy and winger Marc Albrighton are in contention to play a part in City's trip to Chelsea tomorrow.

Both players missed the Premier League opener with Everton last Saturday but returned to training on Tuesday.

"Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton have been training so there is a possibility of them being involved in the squad for the weekend, which is positive for us," said Pearson.

"Matt Upson won't be available for a while.

"It's probably a week too early for both Danny Drinkwater and Matty James."